State Abbreviations

USA State Abbreviations and State Capitals

The United States is comprised of fifty states and a national capital
district, as well as a number of territories and possessions around
the world. Because their names are commonly used and some of them
are fairly long, they are often abbreviated in written documents and on
mailing addresses.

StateAbbreviations.us features a table of U.S. States, Districts,
Territories, and Possessions, along with their standard and postal service
abbreviations and their state capitals. Each State name contains
a link to its official state government website. Each row
of the State table also includes access to a state map.
Each District, Territory, or Possession name contains a link
to its official government or tourism website. To find state
locations, view the state abbreviations map, which shows the lower 48 states plus Alaska
and Hawaii, as well as their two-letter postal abbreviations. Click
on the illustration at right for a simplified view of the 50 states and
their postal abbreviations.

The standard, or traditional, abbreviations, were widely used on mailing
addresses and in other contexts before the two-letter postal abbreviations
were introduced. Use the standard state abbreviations, with periods
and spaces as shown, for all purposes other than postal addresses.
The United States Post Office instituted two letter state abbreviations
along with five digit zip codes in 1963. These postal abbreviations
should only be used in mailing addresses. When abbreviating the
name of a state in a mailing address, use uppercase letters, with no
space between the letters.